Before you start comparing cruise lines, figure out how you actually want to cruise.

Ocean, river, small ship, yacht or expedition? Discover which cruise experience fits the way you like to travel.

There are thousands of cruise itineraries out there—and plenty of people willing to tell you which cruise line is “the best.”

But that's not where I start when I'm helping someone choose a cruise.

I start with questions like:

✦ How do you want to spend your days?

✦ Do you want your ship to be part of the entertainment, or simply a beautiful way to get from one destination to another?

✦ Would you rather have endless choices or fewer people?

✦ How important are the destinations compared with the onboard experience?

✦ What kind of dining, service and atmosphere make a vacation feel special to you?

Your answers can point you toward five very different ways to cruise.

Get the free Cruise Style Guide

I'll walk you through ocean, small-ship, river, yacht-style and expedition cruising and show you the differences that actually matter when you're choosing a vacation.

You'll also get the same kinds of questions I use as a cruise travel advisor to help my clients narrow thousands of possibilities into the ones that actually fit.

The best cruise isn't the one everyone else loves.

It's the one that fits you.

Maybe that's sipping wine as you sail through the heart of Europe.

Maybe it's waking up somewhere so remote that the only way to get there is by expedition ship.

Or maybe it's the intimacy of a yacht, the relaxed luxury of a small ocean ship, or a larger ship filled with fabulous restaurants, entertainment and things to do.

They're all cruises.

They're very different vacations.

And once you understand which experience sounds most like you, the enormous cruise world gets a whole lot smaller, and a whole lot easier to navigate.

Ready to find the cruise that's right for you?

Get the free guide to finding your cruise style